Are Non U.S. Citizens Subject to the Tax Penalty (or the individual shared responsibility payment) if They are Uninsured?

Individuals who are not U.S. citizens, and who are not lawfully present as defined by the Affordable Care Act are eligible for an exemption to this penalty.

This list of noncitizens eligible for the exemption includes:

• Undocumented individuals
• People granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA or “Dreamers”)
• Other immigrants who are not included in healthcare.gov’s list of “lawfully present” immigrants eligible to purchase coverage through the Marketplace. The National Immigration Law Center also has a helpful brief that explains who is “lawfully present” in more detail.

Note that the IRS FAQs (see Question 11) specifies that an immigrant with DACA status is considered not lawfully present and is therefore eligible for an exemption.

Noncitizens may also be eligible for other exemptions, such as having a household income below the threshold that requires them to pay taxes. A list of exemptions is available here.